Notes and Queries, Number 45, September 7, 1850

In Short

This issue of Notes and Queries functions as a lively open forum where Victorian antiquarians, scholars, and curious readers exchange historical discoveries and resolve literary points. Through short notes, urgent queries, and detailed replies, contributors debate medieval folklore, urban topography, Latin theological texts, and Shakespearean phrasing. The issue has survived because it captures the working machinery of nineteenth-century scholarship—a collaborative, unvarnished network where amateur local history sits alongside high theology. It preserves authentic regional legends, rare archival registry records, and forgotten street histories that would otherwise have vanished from public memory.

The Story

The issue opens with a turn toward local tradition through a Cornish legend explaining the origin of the first mole. The narrative tells of Lady Alice of the Lea, a maiden whose pride and rich attire lead to divine judgment, transforming her into a subterranean creature condemned to everlasting night, leaving only her ring atop a mound. This cautionary story glides into a brief collection of regional rhyming charms and traditional couplets.

The intellectual trajectory quickly shifts from folk tradition to serious textual critique and historical revision. Scholars dissect patristic literature and medieval Latin texts. S.H. defends Lord Plunket against charges of plagiarism by comparing his speeches to the writing of Saint Agobard, arguing that shared truths naturally generate similar expressions across centuries. In the realm of local history, Edward F. Rimbault corrects errors in Cunningham’s Handbook of London, proving through sixteenth-century diary entries that Long Acre carried its name decades earlier than recorded, while citing stone inscriptions to back-date the opening of Bagnigge Wells. Meanwhile, J.E.B. Mayor traces Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s references in Aids to Reflection directly back to classical sources in Plato and Tertullian.

As the publication progresses into its middle section, readers drive the discourse through specialized queries. Contributors write in to request information on the diplomatic missions of François I’s ambassador to Wolsey, seek comprehensive bibliographies regarding the Lost Tribes, and question the legal origins of Morganatic marriages and the symbol "&". Local observations emerge, such as R.S. Hawker’s report of Saxon combs buried in Durham Cathedral with the corpse of Saint Cuthbert.

The issue moves toward its resolution through spirited responses to earlier inquiries. John Gough Nichols aggressively refutes claims about William Caxton’s early printing operations, asserting that Caxton set up his press in the almonry rather than inside the consecrated walls of Westminster Abbey itself. Reverend Alfred Gatty weighs in on historical burial customs, explaining that poor interments without coffins reflected an enduring tradition preserved in old missal illuminations and sheep’s wool statutes. Literary critics resolve debated meanings in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, while other correspondents trace place-name etymologies, examine Roman coins, and discuss paper-preservation techniques. The issue closes with editorial announcements, book sales, trade advertisements, and a public call for subscriptions to honor Dr. John Conolly for his humane work with the insane.

How It Unfolds

Cornish folklore opens the inquiry A tragic tale from Morwenstow recounts how the proud Lady Alice vanishes, leaving behind a ring inscribed with ancient words before turning into the world's first mole. The local priest interprets the event as a warning to western maidens against vanity, establishing an atmosphere of preserved oral heritage.

Scholars correct urban and textual errors Antiquarians examine published histories and classical texts to rectify mistaken dates and missing attributions. Contributors pull from early parish registers and old diaries to show that London street names and mineral-water resorts are significantly older than modern guidebooks claim.

Readers present historical queries Correspondents submit requests for obscure details, asking for records of Tudor diplomatic intrigue, legal precedents regarding titles, and the origins of everyday phrases. These entries reveal the broad interests of the reading public, spanning early printed books, ancient burial relics, and biblical translations.

Debaters settle printing and linguistic disputes Correspondents engage in rigorous debate over the exact physical location of Caxton's first English press in Westminster. Writers analyze Shakespearean vocabulary, medieval canon law glosses, and regional road networks like the old Kentish Pilgrims' road to clarify historical misunderstandings.

The issue closes with practical announcements The final pages shift to contemporary Victorian literary business, presenting publisher notices, wanted book lists, and society reports. A public appeal seeks support for a portrait honoring Dr. John Conolly's efforts to reform the treatment of the mentally ill.

The People

Lady Alice of the Lea A stately Cornish maiden of great beauty and pride who vanishes from her estate. She desires admiration and wears rich vestments, but her vanity results in a divine doom that transforms her into the dark mother of the moles, blind and buried in the earth.

The Priest of Morwenna A gray, silent man who has served for decades at a lonely altar. He possesses rare knowledge of the ancient Cornish tongue, allowing him to translate the ring's motto and explain the moral lesson of Lady Alice's transformation to the local community.

William Caxton The pioneer printer whose early historical footprint forms the center of a heated intellectual battle. He seeks to establish England's first printing operation, facing historical misinterpretation by later biographers who mistakenly place his press inside the consecrated abbey church rather than the nearby almonry.

John Jokyn (M. de Vaux) A French ambassador sent to England during the reign of François I to negotiate with Cardinal Wolsey. He seeks to secure a forty-day truce on sea and land, working secretly from a private residence while provoking the ire of French Chancellors.

Dr. John Conolly A nineteenth-century physician recognized in the issue's closing notices. He devotes his career to reforming asylum care, seeking to eliminate cruel mechanical restraints, which earns him the public gratitude of humanitarian organizers.

In Its Own Voice

"Then the ancient priest wept, for he called to mind all these things, and saw what they meant; and he showed them how this was the maiden, who had been visited with doom for her pride."

The narrator reflects on the mournful resolution of the Cornish legend after the priest deciphers the mysterious motto left upon the mound.

"Truth is common to all ages, and will obtain utterance by the truthful and the eloquent throughout all time."

Contributor S.H. defends historical writers against unfair charges of plagiarism while discussing the shared spiritual ideals found in Saint Agobard's Latin treatises.

"The correction of this vulgar error is, I submit, by no means immaterial..."

John Gough Nichols firmly rejects popular artistic depictions that show early printers setting up heavy machinery directly inside the sacred walls of Westminster Abbey.

What It's Really About

At its core, the issue explores the collective preservation of human memory and the rigorous search for historical truth. It asks how a society maintains accuracy when recording its past, weighing folklore against written archives. The contributors grapple with the tension between popular myth and verified fact, whether dismantling popular misunderstandings about Caxton’s press or tracing the literal etymology of urban street names.

The issue also explores the continuity of human thought across centuries. Through debates on patristic logic and classical literature, the writers demonstrate that modern arguments often rest on foundations laid by earlier thinkers. It celebrates collaborative intellectual labor, showing that small details—a missing date, an obscured coin marking, or an unrecorded burial custom—are vital to understanding broader cultural history.

Why Read It Today

This issue offers a rare, immediate window into the working minds of Victorian researchers, local historians, and curious bibliophiles. Reading it feels like stepping into a vibrant nineteenth-century reading room where anonymous collectors and renowned scholars sit side by side, eager to share obscure discoveries. The prose is clean, direct, and unpretentious, capturing an era when intellectual curiosity was a shared civic pastime rather than an isolated academic specialty.

The text does present mild challenges for the modern reader. Paragraphs frequently quote unedited Latin passages, early English register entries, and archaic Cornish couplets without immediate translation. The structure is inherently fragmented, skipping rapidly from severe theological debates to local folklore about warts and moles.

Yet these abrupt transitions give the publication its unique charm. The collection stays with you because it showcases how much history depends on ordinary citizens saving old notices, measuring churchyard walls, and questioning accepted stories. It is an ideal read for historians, lovers of odd trivia, and anyone fascinated by the quiet work of preserving the past.